Associations between early neutering, obesity, outdoor access, trauma and feline degenerative joint disease

Abstract

Objectives The aim of this case-control study was to identify early-life risk factors associated with the occurrence of owner-reported mobility changes in 6-year-old cats by examining prospective data from a longitudinal cohort study of pet cats, the Bristol Cats study. Methods Data on potential risk factors were obtained from seven sequential questionnaires completed between the ages of 2–4 months and 5 years. Mobility-related questions from the study questionnaire distributed at the age of 6 years were used to calculate each cat’s mobility score. Cats with mobility scores of ⩾2 and 0 were allocated to the case and control groups, respectively, and the cat’s status was the outcome variable. Results Of the 799 cats included for analysis, 238 (29.8%) had owner-reported mobility changes. Binomial logistic regression using backwards elimination identified four risk factors for owner-reported mobility changes at 6 years of age: entire neuter status at 6 months of age (odds ratio [OR] 1.97; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.26–3.07), sustained trauma before 6 years of age (OR 1.85; 95% CI 1.30–2.60), outdoor access at 6 years of age (OR 1.67; 95% CI 0.96–2.90) and overweight/obese status at 6 years of age (OR 1.62; 95% CI 1.13–2.33). Conclusions and relevance Risk factor analysis demonstrated that obesity, outdoor access and a history of trauma may predispose cats to developing owner-reported mobility changes associated with degenerative joint disease, whereas neutering before 6 months of age appears to decrease that risk.

Prevalence and risk factors for common respiratory pathogens within a cohort of pet cats in the UK

“…Due to the low number of cats infected with FHV and C. felis, multi-variable statistical analysis of risk factors was not performed. For FCV infection, any factor with a P-value ≤0.2 from the univariable analysis was taken forward into building a multi-variable model using binomial logistic regression as previously described (Maniaki et al 2021). Correlation between independent variables was assessed by multi-collinearity (tolerance values >0.1).…”

“…For each dependent variable, cats with missing data for any of the potential risk factors with a P-value of ≤0.2 were excluded from subsequent analysis. A multi-variable model was built using a backward elimination process (likelihood ratio test) with the selection of independent variables for removal based on minimising the log-likelihood-ratio statistic, as previously described (Maniaki et al 2021). The final model was assessed for fit using Nagelkerke R 2 .…”

“…The Bristol Cats study is a longitudinal study of UK cat health, welfare and behaviour started in Spring 2010 and run by veterinary surgeons, behaviourists and epidemiologists at Bristol Veterinary School, University of Bristol. A number of research papers using this feline cohort have previously been published (Welsh et al 2013, Longstaff et al 2017, Wilson et al 2017, Maniaki et al 2021. Epidemiological data and buccal swabs were prospectively collected at specific timepoints for cats registered to the Bristol Cats study.…”

Update on diagnosing and managing osteoarthritis in cats

“…In cats, OA can be secondary to underlying developmental joint disease, such as hip dysplasia. It can occur subsequent to a joint injury, such as an intra‐articular fracture or luxation (Maniaki and others 2021), but it usually occurs as a primary problem with no easily identifiable underlying cause. Cats develop OA in all their large joints, but particularly the hip (Fig 2), hock and elbow joint (Hardie and others 2002, Lascelles and others 2012).…”

“…Obesity has been shown to be a risk factor for OA in cats (Maniaki and others 2021), and it is notable that approximately 14 per cent of older cats suffering from OA are obese (Clarke and Bennett 2006). Achieving weight loss in cats with OA should be the aim, by the use of low calorie diets and encouraging exercise, but even then it can be challenging (Fig 8).…”